Nathan tried to see inside but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't, he could only see a couple of jail cells that were almost next to the wall he had destroyed.
'Amelia, illuminate the interior'
Amelia quickly materialized and advanced a couple of meters illuminating the surroundings.
Now that everything was illuminated, Nathan frowned even more when he saw that there were more jail cells, there were even some individual cages that already had owners.
Dozens of skeletons were already in the cages, but judging by the state they were in, it had probably been hundreds of years since they had died.
Nathan stepped forward and entered the castle again, almost a couple of months after he had escaped.
'This place gives me the creeps' Amelia spoke to him telepathically from where she stood.
Nathan looked at the orb of light next to him and then looked back at the jail cells where there were even more skeletons.
'It looks abandoned... like they forgot about them a long time ago'
Nathan walked down the corridor, passing through the cells on either side.
All of them had some skeleton in them, some even had more than ten together.
Not more than five minutes had passed since he had entered the subway prison, but he had already counted more than a hundred skeletons.
'Who would these people have been in life and what would they have done to be in this place?'
Nathan remained silent at Amelia's question. Then he stopped at the sight of an arm bone on the ground in front of him.
Doubtful how the bone had come to be in the middle of the corridor, Nathan unconsciously raised his head and looked at the ceiling, then a lump formed in his throat.
Dozens of rather small cages were hanging by chains, also all occupied by skeletons.
Among all the cages, Nathan focused on one in particular, realizing that the skeleton inside the cage was smaller than the others.
'A child...'
Suddenly, a long-lost memory flashed through his mind.
'Once upon a time I was caged too... but I can't imagine what it's like to slowly die of starvation'
Amelia stood silently watching the memory that flashed through Nathan's mind.
At that time a group of strange men had kidnapped him and Lira. It was thanks to Boreas that he had survived.
That was the first time he had taken a life.
Shaking his head slightly to refocus, Nathan stopped looking at the cage where the child's skeleton was and resumed walking.
They continued walking in silence while Amelia illuminated the path. Suddenly Nathan stopped abruptly startling Amelia.
'What's wrong?'
Nathan closed his eyes and as he concentrated on listening to his surroundings, he unsheathed his sword.
'I think I heard something'
Amelia became concerned.
'A calamity?'
Nathan shook his head slightly.
'I'm not sure...'
The noises got stronger each time they got closer, then they realized that it wasn't a calamity that was the source of the noises... but a person.
Nathan stopped in front of a cell and peered inside with an indifferent expression.
"Herfir…"
The man inside the cell was slow to react to Nathan's voice. His skinny body was completely malnourished, and his eyes had lost almost all signs of life.
Since that day in the attic of the castle, Nathan had never seen him again. He had wondered where he was or what had happened to him... he had never expected to find him in this place.
Herfir watched him for a few seconds without recognizing him, then a faint sound came from his mouth as if he was trying to speak, but no matter how hard he tried, he was not able to communicate.
Nathan realized as soon as he saw Herfir, he knew that he had not been fed since the moment he had been brought in.
He did not want to imagine how he had survived but seeing the inside of the cell and his own body, he could somehow understand.
Herfir was missing some of the flesh on his legs and left arm, his clothes were completely bloody and the whole floor was a mess.
The man looked at him silently, unable to speak, and Nathan did not know what to do.
Seeing that Nathan did not react, Herfir used all the strength he had left to get closer to the iron bars, but his legs failed, and he had no choice but to crawl along the ground until he reached the bars.
Nathan remained silent as he saw how desperate Herfir was. He himself had suffered a lot in his entire life, but he had never reached the point where Herfir was right now.
He could see in Herfir's eyes the desire to live, but at the same time the desire to have a dignified end.
Nathan had not known him for a long time, even their first meeting was a bad one. When they met again inside the castle, they were somehow on good terms, then they joined together to hunt the third rank calamity in the attic under Mary's guidance.
He didn't know if Herfir knew of Mary's plans, but that was the least of it at this point.
Herfir barely reached the iron bars that separated him from Nathan and groaned in pain.
Nathan sighed internally and crouched down to stand closer to Herfir.
"Do you wish to die?"
Herfir breathed heavily for air as he watched Nathan silently. He needed no words for his eyes to reveal what he wished, creating a conflict within Nathan's heart.
Nathan understood what he felt, and before he stood up, Herfir extended his hand out of the bars.
Frowning, Nathan accepted what Herfir was handing him and looked at the contents in his hand.
"A picture?"
Nathan unfolded the picture and stared at the person who appeared next to Herfir.
A little girl of the same hair color as Herfir was smiling happily as she sat on his shoulders.
The girl couldn't have been more than five years old, Nathan didn't know when the picture had been taken, but seeing that Herfir was no different from the one in the picture, he guessed that it must not have been long since it was taken.
"Da... da... Dau..."
Herfir tried to speak but the words simply wouldn't come out of his mouth, still, he didn't stop and continued trying to speak.
Blood began to spill out of Herfir's mouth as his vocal cords began to break, then he managed to say a single word before the blood spilled out of his mouth.
"Dau…ghter"
Nathan fell silent, then folded the picture and tucked it inside his coat.
He had already realized it was Herfir's daughter, he simply let him say it for himself.
Nathan sighed and stood up, then unsheathed his sword at the same time Herfir closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself.
Nathan raised his sword and before he could lower it any further, Herfir's head exploded, splattering blood all over the cell and on his clothes and face.
"Huh?"
Completely shocked, Nathan was unable to react to the person standing next to him.
"I never thought I'd see you in this place again"
He didn't dare to turn his head as he couldn't even feel the presence of the person next to him, but he could perfectly recognize the seductive voice next to his ear.
"Come on precious, I didn't remember you being so shy"
Nathan felt someone grab his chin and begin to forcibly turn his head, then he found two fire red eyes in front of him.
Mary smiled seductively and squeezed his face, making Nathan grunt in pain.
"We didn't say goodbye last time, do you mind if we catch up?"